


A Christmas Kiss

by Jo (jmathieson)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-24
Updated: 2014-12-24
Packaged: 2018-03-03 06:42:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2841734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jmathieson/pseuds/Jo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clint gives Phil a gift and a hint.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Christmas Kiss

It was 4:30 p.m. on December 24th when Phil got back to his office after sorting out a snafu with an on-going mission in Croatia. Sitting in the middle of his desk was his Christmas present from Clint Barton. 

They'd started exchanging gag gifts a few years ago, since the time that Phil had seen a small plush Robin Hood fox from the Disney cartoon, and bought it for Clint on impulse, tucking it into his bow-case on December 24th, and leaving it there for him to find. Clint had retaliated with a Dilbert mug, and the game was on.

Now buying something silly for Clint and then slipping it into his gear was one of the things Phil looked forward to most about working through the holidays. There was an unwritten rule at SHIELD that agents with families got Christmas off, and the single men and women drowned their collective sorrows around large bowls of eggnog in the staff lounge. 

Phil took off his jacket, loosened his tie, and sat down before examining his present. Clint had no doubt already found the Katniss key fob Phil had attached to his wrist guard, and was, if Phil didn't miss his guess, currently observing him stealthily from the vent over Phil's office.

This year's mug featured a picture of the Grumpy Cat internet meme, and was filled with Christmas Hershey's Kisses chocolates.

"Thank you Clint," Phil called up towards the vent, and he heard a slight scrabble and a soft 'Ho-ho-ho' fading into the distance. Phil smiled. In an hour or so he'd go find Clint. They'd head to the cafeteria and pile their trays high with turkey and stuffing and potatoes and pie, then sit across from each other, eating and laughing and remember-when-ing about holidays past. There was no one Phil would rather share his Christmas with. 

The fact that he'd be quite happy to share the rest of his life with Clint was a secret he kept well hidden from everyone. Especially Clint. He smiled and reached for one of the brightly wrapped candies, figuring that one or two wouldn't ruin his dinner, and besides, it was Christmas. 

When he picked a chocolate out of the mug, however, he noticed the corner of a small piece of paper sticking out among the candies. It was a sticky note from the block on the corner of Phil's own desk. In Clint's spiky handwriting, it read:

Merry Christmas to the best boss and best friend a guy could ever have, Love Clint

Phil read it again. And again. 

He knew Clint considered them close, but that Clint had used the words 'best friend' made him feel warm and happy. And then... Phil stared at the last two words. Maybe Clint was just joking around, in keeping with their gag gift tradition. Maybe he just figured that's how you were supposed to sign letters. Surely it didn't mean anything more than friendship, a purely platonic deep affection for him on Clint's part. Clint had never had many people who truly cared about him, and Phil knew it meant a lot to Clint that he did. They were close. Almost like family. Families loved each other...

These thoughts swirled around in Phil's mind. He was still holding the note, and a candy in the other hand. Suddenly he wanted something more fortifying than milk chocolate. 

He put the note down, slid open his bottom drawer, and retrieved an almost-full bottle of Scotch. He briefly considered 'christening' his gift, but drinking good scotch out of a coffee mug was wrong, even if it was a mug Clint had given him. So instead he pulled out a glass, one of two he kept for the rare occasion he wanted to share a drink with someone in his office. Tucked into the corner of the drawer, next to the remaining glass, was a small box. Phil pulled it out and put it on his desk, next to the mug. Then he poured himself a drink.

The scotch was a gift from Jasper, and they'd each had a small tot yesterday, right before Jasper headed home for the holidays. It was good stuff, Jasper wasn't stingy when it came to booze, and the amber liquid slid down his throat with a comforting warmth.

'Love Clint.' He rolled the words around in his head again, and looked at the box. It contained a ring. A silver and black ring, in Clint's size. He'd bought it, on a crazy impulse, almost a month ago. One night on his way home from work there had been a street vendor set up on the corner near his apartment. Phil had glanced at the man's wares while waiting for the light to change and spotted it. The artisan had no doubt meant the pattern to be abstract, but to Phil's eyes it looked like silver arrows twined around each other, outlined in black, and then again in silver. It was a somewhat chunky, very masculine ring. Exactly the kind of thing Clint wore when he got dressed up.

Which Phil had found out to his surprise six months ago, when they'd gone out to celebrate Maria's birthday. 'Dress nice,' she'd stipulated, and Clint had taken it to heart. He'd showed up in black dress pants and a deep purple silk shirt, wearing a small amount of silver jewelry: a couple of chunky silver rings, a silver necklace with a small pendant, and small silver hoops in both ears. He'd looked stunning, and Phil's cock had twitched in his pants just looking at him. It twitched again now, remembering.

So when he saw the ring, he immediately imagined Clint wearing it. Cursing himself for a fool, he'd bought it and put it here, in the corner of the drawer, waiting for... he didn't know what. Some sort of excuse to give it to Clint. Some way to say, 'Hey, I saw this and I thought it would look good on you,' without that sounding weird.

Phil finished his drink and stood up. He was going to go to Clint's quarters and they were going to go eat the cafeteria's Christmas turkey while making fun of the Christmas music and agreeing with each other emphatically that no matter how bad the food or the music was, it was much, much better than the Christmas they spent huddled under a jeep being bombed by AIM drones. 

Phil didn't bother putting his jacket back on. It was Christmas; the agents working tonight were wearing Santa hats and Christmas sweaters and elf costumes. Clint would be in jeans and a t-shirt. Thinking about that, Phil took off his tie and unbuttoned his collar a couple of buttons, then rolled up his shirt sleeves. He nodded to himself slightly. Better. More casual. Friendly. '...the best friend a guy could ever have, Love Clint.' 

Phil put the bottle, the glass, and the note in his drawer. He put the ring box in his pocket.

Standing outside Clint's quarters, Phil took a couple of deep breaths to calm his pounding heart before raising his hand to knock.

"Oh hey, Phil. Is it dinner time already? Sorry, let me just put a shirt on." Clint had answered the door in a low-slung pair of jeans and not much else. Phil told his libido to stuff it while Clint bent over to get a shirt out of the bottom drawer of his bureau. Phil dragged his eyes away from Clint's ass, but only managed to get them as far as the play of muscles on his back as he pulled the t-shirt on. 

Phil laughed when Clint turned around, glad of the distraction. Clint was wearing the Legolas shirt that Phil had given him a few years ago. 

"How do I look?" Clint asked with a grin.

"You look great," Phil said, and Clint must have heard the sincerity in his voice because the grin turned into a wide, happy smile as he stepped forward. 

"Do you like your mug?"

"I like it very much, thank you. I, ah, also liked the note." Phil wasn't sure why he'd said that, where he was going, but he ploughed on, sticking his hand into his pocket and pulling out the small box. "I got you something. Something else. It, ah..." Phil stumbled over his words as he held out his hand for Clint to take the gift. "It was just... I saw it and I thought you'd like it."

Clint had opened the box and was staring at the ring.

"I know it's... That time when we went out for Maria's birthday, you dressed up and you were wearing rings, and so when I saw this one I thought..." Phil realized he was rambling, so he stopped.

"It's beautiful, Phil. Thank you." Clint hadn't looked up. He was still looking at the gift. Phil panicked. What the hell had he been thinking, giving Clint a ring, for heaven's sake? How crazy was he to think that maybe Clint had feelings for him, just because of a couple of words on a note?

"Anyway, Merry Christmas," he muttered, and turned to leave.

"No, don't go." Clint's hand closed around his bare forearm. "Please, don't run away from..." Clint didn't finish the sentence, and Phil wondered what the last word would have been. From me? From this? He turned back to find Clint standing close. So very close. The ring box was clutched in a tight fist by his side, but Clint's hand on his arm was gentle and warm. "Please," Clint said again, then was quiet. His thumb moved, rubbing in a slow sweeping arc, but apart from that one small gesture, he was still. Standing there with what Phil thought might be hope in his eyes.

"Tell me 'no'," Phil said desperately. "Tell me you're not interested. That you don't want..." This? Me? Phil couldn't bring himself to say either. "Tell me 'no' and I'll put it away. I'll bury it deep and never bother you again, I swear."

"What if I don't, Phil? What if I say 'yes'? What happens then?" They were inches apart, looking into each other's eyes. 

"Then I kiss you, and everything changes."

"Are you afraid of change, Phil?"

'Yes,' he wanted to scream. 'I'm terrified, and you should be too!' Instead he said, "A little," and he felt his cheeks heat at the admission.

"I'm not," Clint said, and kissed him.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr at: [Jo Mathieson](http://jmathieson-fic.tumblr.com/)


End file.
